History of Children's Literature: A pathfinder

By Ellen Decker and Ruffin Priest

Scope: We have examined literature written for and read by children throughout history. The first book written explicitly for children was Little Pretty Pocket-Book by Newbery, 1744. We have included literature for young adults. The scope is limited to fiction and book format only.

Purpose: to provide an annotated list of resources for the history of children's literature, both books and online.

Books:

Children's literature: an illustrated history. Edited by Peter Hunt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

The collection of well written essays on the stages of children's literature make this an excellent history; it is organized chronologically, beginning with the mid-15th century. The emphasis is on British children's literature, but there are chapters detailing events in the U.S. and internationally. An outstanding feature is the timeline, which gives not only dozens of important children's works, but also literary and historical events to provide context. The index is very good, as is the general bibliography; there are no references at the ends of each chapter, though, which is disappointing. The illustrations are plentiful, well placed, and help make this a very enjoyable book. SILS Library: PR990.C496 1995

From instruction to delight: an anthology of children's literature to 1850. Edited by Patricia Demers & Gordon Moyles. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1982.

A collection of some of the classic, and many of the less well-known works of literature intended for or used by children from c.1000 to 1850. The works are divided into chronological categories, and each division is prefaced by a concise history of the events and movements affecting the literature. Many of the selections are annotated, and some include their original illustrations. Both the bibliography and the index are very good. SILS Library: PR1111.C52 F76 1982

Hunt, Peter. An introduction to children's literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

This is a chronological history of English-language children's literature in Britain; works or events in other countries are only mentioned in relation to how they affected the U.K. The index and bibliography are good, although short. Hunt also includes an extensive chronology of significant works of children's literature, but unlike in his Illustrated History, he does not include historical events or trends. SILS Library: PR990 .H86 1994

International companion encyclopedia of children's literature. Edited by Peter Hunt. London: Routledge, 1996.

This work succeeds in being both broad in scope and also full of detail. The major issues and trends of children's literature are addressed in five major sections of the text: Theory & Criticism, Types & Genres, Context, Applications, and The World of Children's Literature. This last section gives concise historical overviews of the children's literature of various countries, and describes major international influences. Each chapter and major section includes complete references, and the index is detailed. SILS Library: PN1008.5 .I57 1996

Townsend, John Rowe. Written for children: an outline of English-language children's literature. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1996.

This is a general overview of English-language children's literature, with an emphasis on the late 19th to 20th centuries. Its layout is vaguely chronological, but primarily divides the literature by theme or genre within historical periods. It contains a brief bibliography and index. SILS Library: PR990 .T68 1996

Online Resources:

Timeline of Landmarks in the History of Children's Literature
Compiled by Roger Blackwell Bailey, Ph.D. out of San Antonio College.
http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/bailey/childlit.htm

From Hornbook and beyond: Nonfiction and Reference Resources for Children

By Janice Felker. A list, not only of major works in the history of, but also movements and trends. much of the early "literature" for children had characteristics of what we would today classify as nonfiction" but this site also covers fiction. Choice of colors make it difficult to read. Includes link to page of recent trends and issues. No known affiliation, therefore an authority caution. Last updated April, 2000. http://members.visi.net/~jfelker/history.html

The world of the child: Two Hundred Years of Children's Books
An exhibition at the Hugh M. Morris Library, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware. Curated by Iris R. Synder.
An excellent and annotated list of classic children's texts. Begins with a fine introduction to the topic. Includes Early Works, Books before and after 1850, Fables and Fairy Tales, Primers, Pop-ups and Movables, Poetry and a Bibliography. Unfortunately quite brief on the twentieth century.
http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/child/

Social History of Children's Literature by Kay Vandergrift
From the School of Communications, Information and Library Science at Rutgers University.
This well-designed website supplies an extensive bibliography on the history of children's literature. The list of children's classics has links to full text online versions for most of the books. Vandergrift also gives attention to the much-neglected illustrators. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/HistoryofChildLit/index.html

Bibliographies:

Rahn, Suzanne. Children's literature: an annotated bibliography of the history and criticism. New York: Garland Publishing, 1981.

This is a very good resource, and valuable even though it obviously lacks resources published in the last twenty years. Rahn divides her 1300-some citations into six distinct categories: Aims & Definitions, General Histories, Specialized Histories, Genres, Individual Authors, and Studies of Multiple Authors. The Genre and Author categories are then subdivided as appropriate for type of genre or name of author, etc. The annotations are clear and descriptive, although some are much more detailed than others. Indexing is excellent, and refers to the specific number of the citation as opposed to page number. The introduction gives a good overview of the categories and selection criteria used, and the appendix contains a list of relevant journals that deal with children's literature. SILS Library: PR990 .R3

Subject Headings:

Children's literature, American -- History and criticism.

Children's literature, English --History and criticism.

Children's literature -- History and criticism.

Children's literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals.

Children's literature -- Illustrations -- History.

Children's literature -- Periodicals.

Browsing Areas:

General Children’s Literature: PN1008-1009.A1 SILS Library (Davis Second Floor Stacks)

History & Criticism: PR990-PR1111 SILS Library (Davis Second Floor Stacks)

Journals:

Journal of Children's Literature
This has been called "the most scholarly journal in the field." Contains essays that deal with the literary, historical, psychological, or sociological aspects of children's literature. Covers a wide range of genres and nationalities; some issues are dedicated to particular themes, trends, or genres.
Children's literature [serial]. Storrs, Conn. 1972 - present
SILS Library: PN1009.A1 C514

The Lion and the Unicorn: A Critical Journal of Children's Literature.
Published twice a year, this "theme and genre-centered journal" deals with a wide range of topics concerning children's literature. Includes critical essays, reviews, and interviews with children's authors. It is available in print format for the years 1978 -1995, and in electronic format from 1996 to the present.
The Lion and the unicorn [serial]. [Brooklyn, N.Y. : Dept. of English, Brooklyn College]. SILS Library Periodicals Collection.
Lion and the unicorn (Baltimore, Md. : Online) Baltimore, MD : Johns Hopkins University Press, c1995- UNC E-Journals; http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/lion_and_the_unicorn/

Adams, Gillian. "Medieval Children's Literature: Its Possibility and Actuality." Children's Literature, 26 (1998): 1-24.

Argues that the accepted theory that children's literature did not really exist in medieval society is false - its form was simply so different from today's genre that it is difficult to recognize. Adams gives examples of some medieval children's literature in Latin, and discusses the theory that high infant mortality at that time necessitated a less affectionate relationship between parents and children.

Butts, Dennis. "How children's literature changed: what happened in the 1840's?" The Lion and the Unicorn, 21.2 (1997): 153-162.

A study of how the period of industrialization and social unrest following the post-Napoleonic wars created a new type of children's literature in England. Writers, appealing to the middle-class desire to escape the harsh realities of everyday life, began to create fantasies and stories of imagination rather than didactic tales.

O'Malloy, Andrew. "The coach and six: chapbook residue in 18th century children's literature." The Lion and the Unicorn, 24.1 (2000): 18-44.

This article focuses on the "transitional/hybrid" books of the last two decades of the eighteenth century in England that contained elements of both the inexpensive chapbooks and the upper-class bound volumes. O'Malloy discusses the way chapbooks mirrored the rise of middle-class values at the time by combining an air of respectability (in the form of gilt-edging) with affordability, and moral instruction with entertainment. He also mentions the growing number of authors and publishers at this time who tapped into the lucrative market of children's literature.

Timeline of Major Trends

School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill